"ANTONIO GUILLEM / SHUTTERSTOCK News Fulfilment house sentenced under GPSRs A fulfilment house in Birmingham has been convicted of handling dangerous electrical products using the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSRs) in what is believed to be the first prosecution of its kind. In a case brought by Birmingham Trading Standards, Yi Li, principal director of the company called Newemoo, also pleaded guilty to three offences relating to the safety of electrical goods distributed by the firm for online electrical retailers based in the Far East. The case against the company is unusual because it was brought using the provisions set out in the GPSRs, as opposed to the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994. Newemoo admitted three offences under the GPSRs at Birmingham Magistrates Court in March 2016. Both Li and Newemoo were each fined 2,250, ordered to pay 5,171 in costs, plus a 75 victim surcharge. Birmingham City Council was alerted to the case following a referral from Hampshire County Council, after a test purchase of an Cubot X6 smartphone kit in August 2014. Independent safety testing showed that the phone charger posed a risk of fire and electrical shock. Trading standards officers visited the premises in Digbeth in February 2015 and found similar Cubot phone kits, which were taken for testing. One failed the safety test, also posing a risk of fire and electric shock. Officers returned to the fulfilment house in April 2015. They seized 33Cubot X6 phone kits and 82 similar items. Several other electrical items were also found to be dangerous. Barbara Dring, chair of the city councils licensing and public protection committee, said: Consumers should be wary of buying cheap electrical goods online, as they may not comply with safety standards. The reality is that these products failed essential safety tests. That is why its important for trading standards to take action and bring cases like this to the publics attention. Google updates policy on payday lending ads Internet search engine Google has announced a ban on ads for payday loans and related products, starting on 13 July. In 2015, the firm disabled more than 780 million ads for reasons ranging from counterfeiting to phishing. Announcing the move, David Graff, director, global product policy, said: We will no longer allow ads for loans where repayment is due within 60 days of the date of issue. In the US, we are also banning ads for loans with an APR of 36 per cent or higher. Research has shown that these loans can result in unaffordable payment and high default rates for users; we will be updating our policies globally to reflect that. This change is designed to protect our users from deceptive or harmful financial products and will not affect companies offering loans such as mortgages, car loans, student loans, commercial loans or revolving lines of credit, including credit cards. CTSIs #scambassador campaign urges fraud victims to take action CTSI has launched its Stand Against communities and urge more people to Scams1 campaign to encourage MPs, report scams. councillors and community leaders to sign up and become a #scambassador. Leon Livermore, CTSI chief executive, said: About 52bn2 is lost to scams every The average age of a scam victim is 74 but, according to Action Fraud, 53 per cent of people aged 65 or older have been targeted. Last month, a 90 year-old woman3 from The campaign was launched after year and while it is often societys most figures suggested that 95 per cent of such vulnerable, it is important to remember Sutton was conned out of 60,000 after crimes go unreported. that anyone can fall victim. a decade-long postal scam, which Each #scambassador will be The impact is often heartbreaking started when the victim ordered make-up supported by CTSI and the National and we know of people who have Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team lost their life-savings or have had to to lead the fight against criminals re-mortgage their homes after becoming Trading Standards Scams Team can be and unscrupulous traders in their a repeated target. found on their website. advertised in a mail order catalogue. More information about the National References box: 1. The Stand Against Scams campaign pack can be found on CTSIs website 2. National Fraud Authority Annual Fraud Indicator 2013 3. Scam mail case study Lack of regulation tantamount to social murder MAREK P / SHUTTERSTOCK A lack of effective regulation in the UK is tantamount to social murder, according to report author Professor Steve Tombs. His research, Better Regulation: Better for Whom?, has found that, between 2004 and 2013, there were 34 per cent fewer food standards inspections and 28 per cent fewer prosecutions because of a lack of effective regulation of pollution, food safety and workplace health and safety standards. Tombs believes that a lack of effective regulation in the UK has led to: G An estimated 29,000 deaths each year in the UK attributable to airborne pollution G Some one million cases of foodborne illness in the UK each year resulting in 20,000 hospital admissions and 500 deaths G Around 50,000 people dying each year as a result of injuries or health problems originating in the workplace According to the briefing paper: This is not just a problem of infrequent inspections and lax enforcement. In the name of cutting red tape, governments of all political persuasions have, for more than a decade, undermined independent and effective business regulation. Budget cuts under the austerity programme have compounded the problem. Sotoo have moves to outsource and privatise regulatory and enforcement activity. Private companies are increasingly involved in regulating themselves. Taken together, Professor Tombs argues, these changes may mark the beginning of the end of the states commitment to and ability to deliver social protection. The report adds: Business harms are routine, systematic and, crucially, avoidable: they are a form of violence. In fact, the harms indicated are so widespread that they are a form of what others have called social murder (Chernomas and Hudson, 2007) communities, consumers and workers put in a position that they inevitably meet a too early and an unnatural death, day-by-day, year-in, year-out. Governments new law proposals have implications for trading standards The Queen announced a number of access to a straightforward private new bills during the State Opening of pensions guidance service for customers, Parliament that will require involvement sanctioned under the Pensions Bill. Speaking of the proposal for a by trading standards. Digital Economy Bill, Phil Buckle, director Some 21 new bills were introduced, including the Digital Economy Bill, which general of Electrical Safety First, said: involves the harmonisation of online and We welcome the fact that proposals offline punishment, and age verification for the Bill include a strengthening for pornographic websites. of intellectual property rights, as the dramatic expansion in online sales can George Osborne, the Local Growth and the governments cutting red tape Jobs Bill will allow local authorities to commitment. only continue. However, such growth will inevitably be accompanied by a rising tide of retain business rates, giving them more Finally, a new pensions guidance freedom to invest in local communities. body is to be created, bringing together counterfeit items entering the UK market The Better Markets Bill is focused the Pensions Advisory Service, Pension government data shows a 15 per cent on encouraging consumers to switch Wise and the pensions services offered increase in fake goods sold on social providers to keep bills low, supporting by the Money Advice Service, giving media in just one year. ALASTAIR GRANT / GETTY IMAGES As already promised by Chancellor